NORTH MANCHESTER - If it was possible to go back a few years ago, many people would look at two teams like Manchester and Bishop Dwenger and would have thought Dwenger would bring home the win. But in 1998, it's a different story.

The Squires haven't had a year like this since the 1994-95 regular season when they went undefeated. Now, with a record of 11-2, the Squires had no problem defeating the Bishop Dwenger Saints 67-59 Saturday.

"We played like we should play and that is winning the conference title," Manchester coach Gary Goshert said.

The Squires started off on the right foot in the first quarter when Rex Reimer hit two three-pointers to contribute to their 9-2 run. Still early in the quarter, Saints coach Chris Johnson received a technical foul, and Dwenger went on an 11-7 run.

"Manchester took advantage of offensive rebounds throughout the game. We weren't very successful on stopping Chris Enyeart either," Johnson said.

Manchester continued to prevail by scoring on several fast break opportunities and breaking down Dwenger's 2-3 zone defense. Although the Saints (7-2) did get buckets from Jared Glassley and Zach Walker in the second quarter, Manchester was still in control.

Enyeart destroyed Dwenger's defense by scoring 23 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

"Chris Enyeart has been playing like this all year," Goshert said. "If there was any game that Enyeart had to play his best, it was this game, and he did."

The beginning of the second half was hit and miss for both teams. Manchester missed several easy shots that kept Dwenger in the game, while the Saints missed shots in the paint. Jeff Cochard kept Dwenger alive by sinking a three-pointer narrowing the score to 37-33 with three minutes left in the third.

Manchester went on a 6-2 run in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, taking the largest lead of the night. Both teams traded shots back and forth until Reimer forced a Dwenger turnover and found Michael Hendrix under the basket. But the Saints would continue to come back when Matt McKibben hit a three putting Dwenger behind by four with about 1:30 left in the fourth.

Opportunity came knocking again for Dwenger, which had several chances at hitting wide open three-pointers; all three of those shots were airballs.

Goshert looked at the scoreboard clock. With three seconds left, he had already started to go across to Dwenger's bench to shake Johnson's hand.

"Nobody likes to lose a game like this," Johnson said, "But, if I had my choice of teams to lose to, it would have to be the Squires."

Manchester hosts Peru Friday. [[In-content Ad]]